An Inventory Approach to the Assessment of Main Traditional Landscapes in Sicily (Central Mediterranean Basin)

Abstract

EU policy for the conservation of cultural landscapes is of particular importance for a region such as Sicily (Italy) which is the site of many Mediterranean traditional cultural landscapes as well as new landscapes created by contemporary agriculture. Such variety of landscape, however, is not supported or confirmed by specialised inventories that identify and classify the typical Main Traditional Landscape (MTL). On the basis of these considerations, the objective of the present paper is to draw up a preliminary inventory and present a brief characterisation of MTLs in Sicily, in line with the multidisciplinary experiences and approaches implemented at European and national levels. In defining the typological units, the terminology used to identify Sicilian MTLs was modified by experiences developed on the mainland, with entries such as: bocage/semi-bocage, coltura promiscua, Mediterranean open field, mountain landscape, huerta and terrace landscape. Using different spatialised data layers, including those concerned with the main historical processes of land use and land use change, a total of eight MTLs have been detected, mapped, and concisely described. The distribution and importance of terracing systems within the different MTLs is highlighted as one of the most relevant traditional elements in the rural scenario.